The Best of Besh: John Besh’s Restaurants in New Orleans

January 28th, 2014 by cindee

Never heard of John Besh? He’s an extremely popular chef the world over, and he’s one of New Orleans’ favorite and most famous chefs and frequent TV personalities. Naturally, he owns more than half a dozen restaurants in and around the city, all of which are held in high esteem. If you’re looking for a high-quality meal in New Orleans, consider one of these Besh eateries.

Restaurant August (301 Tchoupitoulas St)

August is one of Besh’s newer restaurants, and it’s perhaps his most highly rated in the city. It has a smaller menu of dishes that are of the highest class and quality, including agnolotti, grilled octopus and red beans, Gulf dorado, pompano, courtbouillon, duckling dirty rice and Berkshire-duroc pork. August also has a five-course degustation menu and a tasting of farmers market vegetables, both with the additional option of a sommelier’s pairing.

Lüke (333 St. Charles Ave)

Lüke has been featured in a variety of media, such as Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and The Times Picayune, for its brilliant menu and fantastic fare, particularly its seafood bar and famous Lüke burger. The menu includes a charcuterie selection, a wide range of seafood, including a plethora of oysters, shrimp, clams and mussels, and other delicious entrees, such as etouffe, roasted duck breast, fresh Gulf fish, paneed pork and homemade sausages.

Borgne (601 Loyola Ave)

Borgne’s menu celebrates and revolves around Louisiana seafood, a passion of Chefs John Besh and Brian Landry. Located in the CBD, Borgne is great for dinner, lunch and even a quick bite before a Saints or Pelicans game. Its signature dishes include oyster spaghetti, seafood stuffed flounder and shrimp toast rissoles.

American Sector (945 Magazine St)

American Sector was especially created to cater to visitors of the World War II Museum, but it has quickly become a favorite for locals and visitors in general. Committed to promoting local ingredients, Chef Mattia even uses vegetables and herbs that they grow next door in the Victory Garden. It offers a wide range of choices for diners of all ages, including lamb shoulder, braised short ribs, black drum and alligator and pork cheek meatballs.

Soda Shop (945 Magazine St)

Actually located inside the WWII Museum, the Soda Shop features fountain sodas in melon, pineapple, nectar and other seasonal flavors plus ice creams and milkshakes crafted in-house. They also offer signature sandwiches, homemade soups, sweets and breakfast items like the popular “build your own biscuit” option.

Domenica (123 Baronne St)

Located in the historic Roosevelt Hotel, Domenica has a delicious menu of rustic Italian fare, perfect for a restaurant whose name means “Sunday” in Italian. They’re known for their vast menu of pizzas, antipasti like octopus carpaccio and lamb Bolognese, entrees such as rabbit, oxtail, blue crab and pork ragu and desserts like banana zuppa inflese (banana cake), dark chocolate semifreddo, chocolate hazelnut pudding and, of course, gelato.

Besh Steak (8 Canal St)

Besh Steak is a sleek, modern take on a traditional steakhouse, located in Harrah’s New Orleans casino, perfect for high-rollers looking to spend their winnings on a winning bite to eat. Their extensive steak menu includes perfectly cooked ribeyes, New York strips, prime rib and tenderloins in addition to a huge 38-ounce “Cowboy Steak,” mammoth 48-ounce Midwest Beef Porterhouse and a bacon-wrapped loin of wild boar.

La Provence (25020 U.S. 190 – Lacombe)

Finally, La Provence is one of Besh’s restaurants that hits close to home. While not actually in New Orleans, it’s located instead in Laplace, closer to Besh’s childhood home. The menu is upscale and includes seafood like sheephead, mahi mahi and redfish and other hearty meats like rabbit, rack of lamb, beef tenderloin and duckling.

Any one of these John Besh-owned restaurants is sure to be a treat, so give one or two a try on your next trip to New Orleans!